Council calls for reversal of hospital overnight closure decision

Release date: 28 September 2016

Members of Cotswold District Council met on 27 September and called for the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (GCCG) to reverse their recent decision to close Cirencester Hospital’s overnight minor injuries service.

A motion proposed by Cllr Joe Harris and seconded by Cllr Nigel Robbins noted the strong public feeling against the decision and gained full support from their fellow Councillors.

CDC Leader Cllr Lynden Stowe said that he will be writing to the GCCG outlining the Council’s opposition to the closure:

“This decision to close the overnight unit is short sighted and will have a significant impact on a large number of people who will now have to travel much further afield to seek medical help out of hours. Ambulance response times are poor in the Cotswolds so we are losing out in more ways than one. Our residents deserve better.”

Cllr Harris was pleased with the outcome of the motion:

“About 2,500 local people signed a petition opposing this overnight closure and the effect it will have on the community, and the Council took this into account. The population of the district is set to rise by a considerable amount over the next few years and the GCCG ought to be factoring this into their future plans rather than cutting back on out of hours medical provision.”